Whale Watching Worldwide

Georgia, Ukraine and Russia – Black Sea
Year Number of
whale
watchers
AAGR: Number of
operators
Direct
expenditures
Indirect
Expenditures
Total
Expenditure
1991 None N/A None None None None
1994 None N/A None None None None
1998 None N/A None None None None
2008 Minimal N/A 6 Minimal Minimal Minimal
Capital City: Odessa (Ukraine); Tbilisis (Georgia)
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Black Sea
Several resorts on the Black Sea coast of Georgia, Ukraine and
Russia offer dolphin watching on their websites. Several captive
dolphin watching facilities exist in the area and it is difficult to
determine what type of activities were on offer at some
establishments. At the time of research Russia and Georgia were at
war and we were unable to make direct contact with operators.
Future research should focus on Batumi in Georgia, Sochi in Russia
and Balaklava on the Crimean Peninsula in the Ukraine.
The countries of the Black Sea often disagree over cetacean issues. Many dolphins have been caught here
and sold to captive dolphin parks. In 2002 Georgia moved to have the live dolphin trade banned from the
region, but was overruled. Later efforts to restrict trade through quotas, with a current quota of zero, have
been more successful. It will be interesting to see if a wild dolphin watching industry can be established in
this region and what impact it might have on Black Sea cetacean policy.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Alexei Birkun and four operators
Main species: Large cetaceans:
None
Small cetaceans:
common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, harbour
porpoise
Tourists:
International N/A
Domestic N/A
Types of tours: Short boat‐based trips
Average ticket price: N/A
Estimated employment
8
numbers:
Main whale watch season: June to September (peak tourist season)
References:
http://www.undp.org/gef/new/blacksea.htm
http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/what_are_the_issues/marine_mammals_at_cites/black_sea_bottlenose_dolp
hin_proposal.html
http://www.blacksea‐crimea.com/sea.html
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